Farewell Ceremony

Zhang Wei received a special invitation, with black lettering that read "Ms. Yang Tianzhen's Fortieth Birthday Farewell Ceremony."

She thought she was mistaken, rubbed her eyes, and confirmed it was correct. The invitation also stated the location and time, which was actually in the company's top-floor conference room.

Yang Tianzhen was a senior employee in the company and also Zhang Wei's direct supervisor. She was strict and acted decisively, but her performance was the best in the company. Zhang Wei had never imagined that Yang Tianzhen's fortieth birthday would be celebrated in such a way.

With curiosity, Zhang Wei walked into the conference room.

The conference room was decorated like a small mourning hall, with white ribbons hanging around the perimeter, and a huge cake in the center, with a black and white photo of Yang Tianzhen printed on it. The expression on her face was still serious and stern.

Colleagues stood around in small groups, with strange expressions on their faces. Some were whispering, some were expressionless, and some were secretly sending messages on their phones.

When the ceremony began, a host walked on stage and began to introduce Yang Tianzhen's "glorious" life with emotion. He used various flowery words to portray Yang Tianzhen as a "superwoman" who had dedicated everything to the company.

Zhang Wei felt a wave of nausea listening to those hollow praises. She knew that these were company scripts that had been written long ago, and had nothing to do with the real Yang Tianzhen.

Next was the "farewell" part for the colleagues. Each person lined up and walked in front of Yang Tianzhen's "portrait" to say a few pre-prepared eulogies.

"Manager Yang, may you have a good journey, we will always remember your teachings."

"Manager Yang, you are our role model, we will continue to work hard and make greater contributions to the company."

"Manager Yang, although you have left us, your spirit will always inspire us to move forward."

Zhang Wei felt a deep sadness listening to these insincere farewells. She knew that these colleagues might be privately complaining about Yang Tianzhen's strictness, and cursing her ruthlessness. But here, they had to pretend to be grieving, offering their fake condolences to a living person.

When it was Zhang Wei's turn, she looked at Yang Tianzhen's picture and was momentarily speechless. She didn't know what to say. She felt like a puppet on a string, only able to perform mechanically according to a script that had been written for her.

She recalled the scene when she first joined the company. At that time, she was full of passion and hope for the future. But now, she had become numb and indifferent, mechanically repeating the same work every day, having lost her initial dreams.

She sighed, bowed deeply to the photo, and then said quietly, "Manager Yang, happy birthday."

Her voice was small, drowned out by the colleagues' false lamentations.

After the ceremony, the colleagues dispersed, leaving only Zhang Wei in the conference room. She looked at the huge cake and suddenly felt a wave of weakness.

She picked up a piece of cake and took a bite. The cake was sweet, but she couldn't taste anything.

She suddenly realized that this so-called "farewell ceremony" was not only for Yang Tianzhen, but also for themselves. In this alienating workplace, they had gradually lost themselves and become soulless shells.

Every day they were "dedicating" their youth and enthusiasm to the company, forgetting that they were also living human beings who needed love and care.

Zhang Wei put down the cake and silently left the conference room. She didn't know when she would become the next Yang Tianzhen, but she knew that if she continued like this, she would eventually get lost in this cold workplace, turning into a soulless walking corpse. And this absurd farewell might just be the beginning.